is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 series created by Yuriko Nishiyama. It was published by Tokyopop

Tokyopop

Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The series contain 29 volumes in Japan. However, in the U.S., the manga goes up to 9 volumes under the name Harlem Beat, while volumes 12+ are published under the series title Rebound. As of August 31, 2009, the Rebound volumes are out of print.

Harlem Beat details the struggles of young Nate Torres to go from a benchwarmer to a street-ball player. The story's scope expands as he makes friends and eventually becomes a member of his high school basketball team.

Characters

• Nate Torres ( Japanese version) - main character of Harlem Beat. In the original Japanese version, Tohru Naruse goes by his nickname Naruchiyo and is often associated with a monkey, serving as a mascot to the team. Nate is a perennial bench-warmer. Lacking in both coolness and talent, he is the most unlikely basketball player. But through persistence and support from his friends, Nate slowly teaches himself the art of basketball. In the process, he slowly builds up his confidence and begins to realize his dream of success on the high school basketball court. He also develops feelings for Mizzy Kusuda, an ex-classmate, but later falls for another girl named Tomomi Koizumi. His signature move in basketball is known as the airwalk. Nate incorporated many flashy moves into his game, such as his signature airwalk, evolved lay-up (double-clutch) miracle J, and his invincible lay-ups. Every single one of these skills are pulled off subconsciously, indicating a preternatural natural talent for the sport.
• Mizzy Kusuda ( Japanese version) - Mizuki is Nate's ex-classmate and close friend when he was in the primary school. She helps Nate succeed, teaching him the down and dirty side to street ball: no rules, no fouls, and no crying, she teaches him how to win. Eventually, she revealed to Shurman that she was in love with him ever since she first met him under his street name, which was Shoe. Her love was not returned, however, with Shurman saying that Shoe was gone.
• Kyle "Oz" Ozman ( Japanese version) - Kyle is a tough kid, high school drop-out with an axe to grind with everyone. But often his bark is worse than his bite. He and Nate are the only two players in the history of street hoops to ever score on the powerhouse team, 3-Slam. When they get together with Mizzy, Team Scratch is born. Oz is a hoodlum from the streets. He hangs with a rough crowd, and he brings the same attitude to the courts. Nate, his own teammate, is even scared of him. Throughout the series, Kyle has a crush on Mizzy, which eventually develops into love. He is also not very good when it comes to girls. - He is also a member of Scratch. He is Naruse's best friend. Sawamura plays street basketball to earn money as he lives by himself. He likes money very much and as a result turns towards gambling. His affinity to risk explains his constant attempts to sink only the three-point shots. He stole a score from Three Men by his tricks. He is the best three-point shooter and called a "Miracle Shooter". He is not good in stamina, but he is very good at tricks. His famous nickname is Fox (Kitsune) Guy, as he is really tricky and loves gambling. He is a clever guy too. His only weaknesses are money and ghosts. In a flashback, it is revealed that Sawamura's father abandoned him and he was soon picked up by a Yakuza member named Fujita. Fujita taught him how to fight, including the ways of the streets. After Fujita was shot by one of his own, he was captured and confined, leaving Sawamura to live on his own.
• Shurman Shuji - Shurman is considered to be a "big brother" in the Johnan team. He also secretly leads a double life as Shoe , the leader of the streetball team House of Three Slam (Threemen's Hoop). - The captain of the Johnan varsity basketball team. - A member of the Johnan team, Kobayashi is described by the Tokyopop website as "samurai
  Samurai
  is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
  
  -like." He also is good at reading books.
• Tamotsu Suzuki - A member of the Johnan Team.
• Hijiri Imagawa - A member of the Johnan Team. - A member of the Johnan Team. - A member of the Johnan Team, he is nicknamed .
• Kim Yabe - The manager of the Johnan team, Yabe is described by the Tokyopop website as a "kick-ass girl who doesn't take crap from anyone." - Higa leads the Kyan Marine Industry High School basketball team. and - Twins who play on the Kyan team.
• Tetsuya Kemp Sugeran - Sugeran, a member of Kyan, is considered to be the strong player on the team. - A member of the Kyan team, Tamanaha has long, dark hair. The Tokyopop website describes him as having "a pleasant personality."
• The Coach of the Kyan team
• Bud Okuda ( - Okuda is a writer for "Hoop Town Tokyo," which documents the streetball culture in Tokyo.
• Mr. Morita - A basketball journalist - Takagi, the star player of the Kanakita Northern Industry High School basketball team, is considered to be a "shoo-in" for the Olympic team. - A member of the Felicia Girls School team, Koizumi is a good player on the court, but is dizzy and accident-prone off of the court - A teammate of Koizumi, Ikeda is described by the Tokyopop site as "far more practical" than her "daffy companion." - A point guard on the Tsukuba team, Mikami plays seriously - Majima is a forward on the Tsukuba team
• Unohara
• Shades
• T- Rock
• Bucky

External links

• Official web page on Tokyopop's web site (Archive)